


The Dirty Side of the Street

by ObliqueOptimism



Series: Prepare for Boarding [2]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Can be read as a stand alone, Dave is an Accountant, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, M/M, Not Beta Read, Sober Klaus Hargreeves, Soft Dave
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:27:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21689095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObliqueOptimism/pseuds/ObliqueOptimism
Summary: Logically Dave knew Klaus had been in bad relationships before him, but he hadn't known how bad they'd been.[can be read as a stand alone fic]
Relationships: Dave/Klaus Hargreeves
Series: Prepare for Boarding [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1563505
Comments: 28
Kudos: 466





	The Dirty Side of the Street

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mieczyhale](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mieczyhale/gifts).



> very much based on [this post](https://mieczyhale.tumblr.com/post/189445990040/whumpster-dumpster-caretaker-finding-whumpee-in) on tumblr. this fic is second in the series but it is totally a stand alone.

Dave had thought things were going well. Of course he always thought that. He should have known better. 

_He should have known better._

Klaus had been staying with him more and more, much to the merriment of both. After the awkward time where Klaus hadn’t realized they were dating was behind them, they only had forward to go. 

He had thought things were going well.

He had thought the worst was behind them.

He was wrong.

Dave came home, expecting to find Klaus hanging out. Painting, cooking, watching tv. He did not expect to find him crying softly, surrounded by broken glass with floral print.

It was his grandma’s vase. 

Broken.

The shards surrounding Klaus like glitter, sparkling as the fairy lights danced. Klaus was crying softly, his eye makeup running down as slow moving rivers own his face. Small amounts of blood making the contrast from Klaus’s pale skin even greater. 

Klaus was huddled in the middle of the glass. The pistil of the flower, surrounded by the floral petals of the broken vase. 

Dave felt something cold grip his heart.

He bent down and reached out but froze when Klaus flinched.

_He flinched_.

“Sorry,” Klaus breathed out. His voice was so small, shaking as much as he was.

Dave moved slowly, telegraphing his movements. Klaus watched with wide eyes that continued to cry. As Dave’s hand reached Klaus’s face, he flinched slightly. Watching where the glass shards were, Dave pulled Klaus towards him, gently directing him away from the damage. 

He had precious cargo.

Dave knew, _he knew_ , that Klaus had some bad relationships before him. Had only bad relationships before him. 

Klaus said he was damaged goods.

Dave replied that he was still good though.

He wrapped Klaus up in his arms but Klaus was stiff, as if expecting _something worse_.

The cold tugged at Dave’s heart.

Dave gently directed Klaus to the bathroom, intending to clean his cuts. Get any glass out, get some antibiotic, band-aids. He had bought some he thought would make Klaus smile, fun animals with books, umbrellas, popcorn. 

Humming a song he knew Klaus liked, he lifted him so he sat on the sink and started to clean up the small cuts.

Klaus seemed more bothered by the kindness than the glass itself.

How horrible had the previous boyfriends and girlfriends been?

“I really am sorry,” Klaus said.

“I know,” Dave kissed a large cut on Klaus’s foot. “You’re forgiven.”

Klaus’s shoulders hunched, he looked away, “No.”

“No?” Dave took a rag to the blood and washed him as gentle as he could.

“It was your grandma’s vase.” Klaus protested, “It survived Nazis. I shouldn’t have-- I had-- It was-- I’m so sorry Dave.”

Dave knew he was. Dave knew Klaus was more sorry than he needed to be. _He knew that_. “I know,” Dave repeated. “You’re forgiven.”

“You can’t just forgive me like that!” Klaus protested. 

“I can’t?” Dave asked quietly, moving to the other foot and starting to clean it up. 

“ _It was your grandma’s vase._ You need to be mad. I was bad and I broke it--”

“It was an accident, right?” Dave said, knowing it was.

“Yes, of course it was. But--”

“Then you’re forgiven,” Dave said. Honestly there was nothing to forgive, it had been an accident. Nothing malicious. Klaus had probably bumped into it and it fell. It was glass. Glass breaks easily. But he knew Klaus wouldn’t take it well at being told there was _nothing to forgive_ so Dave thought he should stick with repeating how he was forgiven. 

Dave knew he had to tread carefully.

He hadn’t realized how shitty Klaus’s past relationships were but he was starting to get an idea. 

He didn’t like it.

“But-- No. You can’t just forgive me like that!” Klaus was still shaking slightly, tears still rolled down his face quietly. “You need to take your anger out on me, teach me a lesson to not break your things, punish me. Something! You need to do _something_!”

Dave’s insides squirmed. Logically, he knew Klaus had been mistreated, abused, but he hadn’t realized what all that entailed. 

Klaus was begging to be hit.

“I was terrible and did a bad thing and need punished for it.”

Klaus was trying to convince Dave at how bad he was. At what he deserved.

But Klaus was wrong. Dave knew that Klaus was not bad, he knew what Klaus actually deserved. He deserved to be held, he deserved to not be harmed by people who claim they care about him, he deserved to not have to wait for who knows how long surrounded by broken glass, worried about the punishment he was going to receive for _an accident_.

Dave knew he couldn’t help Klaus unlearn all the behaviors his previous relationships instilled in him, not in one day. But he would start. 

Dave stood up, having cleaned all the cuts he saw. Thankfully he hadn’t seen any glass stuck in Klaus’s skin. He saw the fear in Klaus’s eyes, the way he held himself. Waiting. Leaning forward, Dave gently put his hands on Klaus’s legs, “You are not terrible. You are so wonderful, Klaus. I love you. Can I give you a hug?”

“What?”

“You look like you need one,” Dave said, reaching up to wipe some of Klaus’s tears away. He tried to ignore how Klaus flinched when Dave gently touched his skin. “I’d like to give you a hug but I want you to be okay with that.”

Before Dave could react, Klaus pushed himself off the sink and wrapped his arms tight around Dave. 

He was still shaking. 

Dave held him close. 

Klaus started mumbling apologies in Dave’s neck, where his face was pressed, wet tears running down onto Dave’s skin. 

“You’re forgiven,” Dave repeated.

Klaus’s fingers flexed, gripping Dave’s shirt tighter yet. Scrambling for purchase. Then Dave thought he felt something through the back of his shirt, where Klaus’s hands where. Something that was sharp, but not from a fingernail.

“Did you get cut anywhere else? Your hands okay?”

“S’fine,” Klaus murmured quietly, not letting go. 

“Can I see?” Dave asked, whispering. He wasn’t sure what was going through Klaus’s head. Chances were he thought he deserved glass stuck in his hands. 

Dave wanted to find out who the monsters where who taught Klaus to be so worried about punishment, for expecting it and asking for it. “You aren’t in trouble, doll. But we need to get the glass out.”

“I can do it, don’t worry, Dave. I’ll be fine. You can go and-- and-- I can take care of it. And I’ll clean up. Sorry I didn’t earlier. I should have cleaned up your grandma’s vase. You shouldn’t have to do that,” Klaus started shaking again. His adrenaline picked up once more.

Dave had worked hard at calming him down.

“I’d like to help,” Dave said, pulling back slightly. Klaus let go and kept his eyes anywhere but Dave’s face. Dave continued to move slowly and grabbed Klaus’s hands. Turning them up, he saw that Hello had a piece of glass in it. It was nasty and jagged. Under the blood Dave saw the floral print of the vase.

“Stay there, I’m going to reach behind you and get the tweezers, okay?” He let go of Klaus who quickly turned his head to Dave, eyes intense, watching Dave’s movements. Dave noted that when he moved faster Klaus’s trembling got more noticable. He started humming the song from before. 

Klaus’s shoulders dropped some, showing he was calming back down. 

Dave felt like he was in the middle of a minefield, but with luck, he’d make it through without setting any of the bombs off. 

And he liked to think he knew his boyfriend well enough to manage.

(In the back of his mind, Dave remembered how much he fucked up before, in the relationship, but they were moving past that, and they’d move past this.)

After he got the tweezers, Dave took Hello in his hand and kissed the fingertips. Klaus tilted his head and watched, confusion clear on his face. “This is going to hurt a bit, love. I’m sorry.”

The confusion became more clear, he obviously didn’t like Dave saying _he was sorry_ , “No, I can--”

“Let me? Please?” Dave waited until Klaus gave a hesitant nod before digging out the glass. He was sure to keep his hold on Hello soft, if Klaus needed to flinch or pull his hand back, Dave would let him. He’d take him time, digging it out, if needed. He’d take all night if he had to. He had nothing more important to do than help Klaus.

Klaus was quiet through out, Dave went back to humming the song. 

Once Dave finally got the shard out of Hello, he kissed the fingertips again. He carefully bandaged the wound. He then took Good Bye and held it up, “How did this one fair?”

“Fine,” Klaus whispered, fingers flexing for a moment. 

Dave looked it over and kissed the palm. It was fine, no cuts, no glass. 

Good Bye turned and gripped Dave’s hand, “You’re not mad?”

“No. Not at all. I will admit I was scared at first, worried you were hurt worse than you are. But not mad. Never mad.”

“You should be. I broke the vase. I made you worry. I was bad,” Klaus said, fingers tightening around Dave’s wrist.

“It was an _accident_ , baby. You weren’t bad. You _aren’t_ bad. You did nothing wrong,” Dave caressed Klaus’s cheek, wiping some tears away. 

“Dave,” Klaus whispered, closing his eyes and leaning into the touch.

“I love you Klaus,” Dave then kissed him on the forehead. “I am so happy to have you in my life. And I need you to know that I will never hurt you, _not like that_. Never like that. I don’t expect you to trust my word--”

“I do, I do, Dave--”

Dave let out a little hum. He knew Klaus said he believed him, but he had learned this behavior from true monsters, and while Klaus logically would believe him, Dave knew it would be a while before he actually did. This would not be the only song and dance they do on the subject, but Dave was willing to learn the footwork. 

“--But I’m going to show you that you can trust me,” Dave finished, running a hand through Klaus’s hair. 

Dave escorted Klaus back to the main room and sat him down on the sofa while he got a broom to clean up the mess. As he cleaned up, Dave noticed how Klaus’s body language got defensive. He curled up on the sofa, holding himself tightly and he kept his eyes locked on Dave as he cleaned. 

While Dave threw the glass away, he made some tea for them. Dave sang what he could remember of the song, humming when he didn’t know the words. He maybe got some of the lyrics wrong, Klaus giving a hint of a smile at one point.

After setting the drinks down on the coffee table, Dave took the blanket his grandma made and wrapped it around Klaus, pulling him closer so he could hold his boyfriend, “See? Even my grandma forgives you.”

Klaus let Dave hold him the rest of the night, slowly relaxing in his arms. Dave could feel how each minute he let his fears go. Dave would love to learn the names of those who had hurt Klaus like this. Sure, he was just an accountant but that just meant he knew how to make people _pay_. 

Later, Dave would have to deal with Klaus saying he wasn’t broken, or breakable, Dave didn’t need to treat him with kid gloves. At other times Klaus would obviously be expecting Dave to hit him, hurt him, and he would flinch when Dave kept his hands gentle, soothing. This wasn’t something Klaus would unlearn overnight, or even within a month. Dave hoped that one day Klaus wouldn’t try to hide when he did something ‘wrong’ or sit and wait for his punishment when he was ‘bad’. 

It broke Dave’s heart when his boyfriend reacted like this. But Dave would just hum the song, hold him close, give him gentle kisses. Show him how much he loved him, cared about him. 

And then one morning, Dave woke up to Klaus suddenly laying on top of him, “I broke the coffee pot. Sorry.” He didn’t sound scared, he didn’t sound like he’d been crying.

Dave rested his hand on Klaus’s lower back, keeping him close, “Oh? You’re not hurt are you?”

Klaus rolled his eyes, “I would have started with that. I’m good, Dave. But no coffee this morning, _alas_.”

Dave took a moment to appreciate that Klaus was just informing him, for once not expecting the worst. Letting out a sleepy hum, Dave pulled Klaus’s face closer and kissed the end of his nose, “Don’t need coffee. All I need is you.”

“You’ve got me,” Klaus smirked.

Nothing made Dave happier.

**Author's Note:**

> obliqueoptimim @ tumblr


End file.
